Thoughts on Tech: Tumblr Follows Growing Video Trend

Like many other social media networks, Tumblr is putting a lot of their resources behind enhancing video on their platform. Twitter and Facebook have both announced recent updates to their sites that encourage the sharing of video content. Tumblr is now following suit as more and more users are using video to connect.Yahoo recently reported that Tumblr's user base jumped 40% since it was acquired by Yahoo in 2013, which is projected to lead to more $100 in ad revenue next year. As Mashable stated, "Video posts are growing at twice the rate of photo posts on Tumblr, and the built-in player is the most popular player option on the site by post volume, according to Tumblr." In order to capitalize on this major growth in video engagement, Tumblr has update various features within its platform.The biggest new feature is a pop-out video player, which allows a user to watch a video in a separate player on the side while still scrolling through their feed. Another enhancement is the added capabilities of Vine and Instagram video to be on continuous loop. They also added the ability to auto-play videos and play them in HD. All of these make for a better video experience, while allowing them to keep up with their larger social counterparts.- Kyle (@kyledineen)